Dan, The Crippled Knight

“So it’s ants this time, Staggeron!! How many more will you bring here?!! How many more bugs do you want to see kill themselves?!”, before anyone could say or do anything, Dan, the Crippled Knight, has welcomed his guests in an unusual manner.

“As enthusiastic as ever, Dan!”, Staggeron was mocking the tempered Knight.

“I would love to tear your limbs apart, King… but hell is, unfortunately, a better place without you in it!”, Dan said with pure hatred visible in his eye.

“Even after all this time… and all of the kindness that I have shown you by sparing your miserable life… even after I was so kind as to not murder you for what you’ve done to my daughter…

Even after all of that, you still greet me like this every time you see me…”, Staggeron tried to say calmly, but he could not hide the anger that was building up inside him.

“DON’T YOU DARE DO THIS AGAIN!! DON’T YOU DARE BLAME ME FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCANA!!!”, Dan shrieked, as loudly as he could, and a lonely tear fell from his left eye.

A lonely tear, carrying all the sadness that had ever been stored inside Dan’s heart.

“…”, Staggeron just exited The Crippled Knight’s hideout, slamming the door shut as he left…

Dan angrily looked at his three confused and disturbed visitors.

“… Let’s get this over with, I guess…”, he said in a tired tone.

“W-”, Antonio wanted to ask something, but Dan stopped him by yelling: “NO! You. Will just sit there. Sit there and listen.

You don’t know anything…

I know you don’t…

I know exactly how this will go…

I will tell you my story…

You will leave.

And we will never meet again.

I can only hope… that you will be different… different than all the others who came here before you…

But I know that this isn’t the case…

I know that you, too, will perish.”

“YOU ARE WRONG!!”, Nanthan disrupted The Crippled Knights yapping.

“Heh. That’s what they aaaalll say-”, Dan wanted to continue, but Nanthan disrupted him yet again: “NO! I am telling you. This time it is different.

Whatever horrors you have in store to tell us, I assure you… we will handle it, And we will do everything in our power to save this falling Kingdom!”

Nanthan’s voice was, despite everything, still as confident as ever. This made Dan recognise him: “You… You seem familiar…

Nanthan, the sturdy ant, perhaps?”

“Correct.”, Nanthan confirmed.

“And you, young one with a shattered soul…”, Dan spoke to Antonio.

“A-Antonio, sir.”, he nervously answered.

“And… the crippled hercules beetle… Herculios’s son I suppose…”, Dan even recognised Hercules who, unlike Nanthan, wasn’t a very famous warrior.

This surprised Hercules, who said: “H-How did ya kno-”

“Heh… Your father was pretty famous, you know… I sparred with him once, a long time ago… He was a powerful warrior.

A very powerful warrior indeed…”, Dan said.

Hercules could not say anything, as for he was too astonished by the fact that none other than the King and Dan, the mighty themselves knew his father, whom he had never met…

The Crippled Knight looked Nanthan in the eyes and said: “… I suppose you are different… at least in one way…

I can see that you are real warriors… unlike those who came before you, who were nothing but mere imitations of ‘warriors’… weak bugs who only sought to see the truth to satisfy their curiosity…

But you… Looks like the three of you might actually be able to handle what you’re about to find out…”

Dan looked upwards before continuing: “I assume… you have never heard of

Webonetta, the fallen widow…

Also known as the Sixth Great Knight.”

Hercules, Nanthan and Antonio all looked at each other with confused and excited looks in their eyes.

“We haven’t.”, Nanthan replied.

“Didn’t think so…”, Dan paused for a few moments, sighed and finally said:

“I suppose I should start from where my personal story began…

In order for you to fully grasp everything…

The story begins about 36 seasons ago… when I was just a little child…”

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